EARLY DEATH

A concern is being spread in medical departments of North-American zoos. Gorillas are facing early and suddenly deaths at the zoos, caused by powerful heart attacks.

Biology Department of Case Western Reserve University is studying the relation of the deaths, the feeding and the lack of activities of the primates. “We are concluding that we can have a lot of fat gorillas”, affirmed Kristen Lucas, professor of biology of the university.

The alert of the problem emerged with the early death of gorilla Brooks, 21 years old, at Cleveladn zoo in 2005. This motivated the research. Savannah gorillas exist only in North-American zoos. The researchers think that it is necessary to change the diet to more natural sources, similar to what they access in the wild. All the zoos filled the food trays to the gorillas with high calories food, with high level of sugar and carbohydrates.

At Cleveland zoo, the change has already began with meals with more vegetables and fruits and less carbo and sugar and they take supplements of vitamins.

In the former diet the gorillas used to eat 25% of the day, as long as the food was offered in excess. Now, more natural, they spend half of their time eating, which helps to fight against boredom due to lack of activities.
One thing the researchers did not study and can be the main reason of the heart weakness of these big and extraordinary beings is the lack of activity associated to the public harassment. This causes an intense stress and ends up in early heart fatalities.

We hope that the zoos of the developed world discover the real causes of these premature deaths. Gorillas and all the great apes must not live on zoos, harassed by visitors, but in sanctuaries, with privacy and enough space to make their lives in captivity the most healthy and happy as possible.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International